Microsoft India enhances paternal leave policy

Microsoft India announced today that it has introduced some major changes in its paternal leave policy. Improvements have been made in all types of paternal leave benefits and a family caregiver leave scheme has also been launched, under which, employees can take up to 4 weeks of paid leave to take care of an immediate family member. This would be very useful for employees whose immediate family member may be experiencing a serious health condition. The enhanced paternal leave benefits will be applicable from April 21, and they will cover everything from paternity to adoption and surrogacy.

The company has also provided the definition of family, which includes spouse/domestic partner, parent/in-law, sibling, grandparent or child. Paternity leave has been increased from 2 weeks to 6 weeks. Adoption and surrogacy leave for mothers has been increased to 26 weeks each. Speaking on the development, Microsoft India Director – Human Resources Ira Gupta said, “This move is reiteration of Microsoft’s commitment to empower its employees through a suite of benefits. We hope the extended parental leave benefits will further improve work-life balance for our employees, and help them transition back to the workplace at a time and pace that is more conducive to such a major development in their lives.”